


A shimmer of hope

by Catharina2003



Category: Crescent City Series - Sarah J. Maas, MAAS Sarah J. - Works
Genre: Fluff and Angst, High Bryce Quinlan, Sarah J Maas, pre-HoEaB, pre-house of earth and blood, protective Declan Emmet, protective Ruhn Danaan, protective Tristan Flynn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:08:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23066761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catharina2003/pseuds/Catharina2003
Summary: After Ruhn and Bryce had one of their many fights, Bryce takes a few drugs and gets into trouble.Luckily for her, Flynn and Declan were close.A little less lucky for her, they didn't trust her to be able to stay in her own apartment and stay safe.
Relationships: Bryce Quinlan & Ruhn Danaan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 65





	A shimmer of hope

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the second fanfic about Crescent City (House of Earth and Blood) on this site and I have no idea if I did it justice, but I just LOVE the dynamic between Bryce and Ruhn and I can't wait until there's more actual sibling interaction between them. So I had to write this.

Loud music, pushing him. Pulling him. Like most Fae, he answered to the pull of music whenever it was there. 

‘Dec, I'm going to order something to drink, you want something?’ Tristan Flynn asked one of his best and oldest friends.

His gaze locked onto a couple of beautiful Fae, that just entered. He was going to find a chance to dance with them, he decided. 

‘If you're offering, then sure.’ Declan Emmet replied, following the man’s gaze. ‘Although I had real drinks in mind.’

Flynn made a movement with his hands that he'd be back in a minute. It was a shame, he thought as he moved past all the sweaty and excited people, that Rhun hadn't deemed it a good idea to join them. 

Not because he was training, mind you, but because he had another fight with Bryce, his cousin. Or, more specifically, he’d tried to bury the hatchet again after the fight they’d had 6 years ago, when Bryce had been 16, but she’d refused again. 

Flynn had tried to convince Rhun to join them, forget about the fight, but he’d replied that rather wallow in his sorrows. Well, he hadn’t said that literally, but that was the result.

Flynn smiled at the female satyr behind the bar and ordered some drinks. Just some beers, nothing special. He didn’t see the point in expensive drinks if he was going to just throw it backwards in no-time anyways. 

There was a female Fae next to him, and he exchanged some flirtatious words with her in the time it took the satyr to get his order. He saw some other guests giggle as he walked past them. Two vampires and a witch, he guessed. He winked at them before walking on.

After a few steps, he froze, Bryce was here. He didn’t see any of her more known friends near her, she actually seemed to have arrived alone. 

Flynn debated whether he should approach her, but decided against it. The whole reason she and Rhun weren’t on good terms was that she despised (Vanir) men trying to make decisions for her. He’d let her party, after all, she was an adult that could make decisions for herself.

That wasn’t to say, however, that he wouldn’t keep an eye on her. She was his best friend’s cousin, one of the few family members Rhun even had. Flynn would be a terrible friend if he didn’t.

He walked further, towards Declan, and gave him the beer. ‘Cheers.’ They said, only their Fae hearing responsible for the fact that they even could hear each other without screaming so loud that their throat hurt. 

‘Bryce is here, by the way.’ He said, after having taken a sip.

Declan nodded that he understood, his eyes searching for the girl. They both would keep her safe. After that little understanding, they partied on. Declan found a beautiful Vanir woman to keep himself busy while Flynn got himself some mild drugs to keep himself entertained. 

Nothing that would keep him off his edge or that would hinder his thinking and/or fighting, but just something to make him relax a little.

The two male Fae danced, flirted and made out for about thirty minutes until the smell they’d both been keyed on changed. Bryce no longer was enjoying herself. 

Flynn excused himself from the woman he’d been passionately kissing not a few moments ago and hurried towards the girl that he’d known (and had been protective off) since she was thirteen.

The half-human was currently pushing off several members of one of the wolf packs, telling them she wasn’t interested. Flynn was pretty sure it wasn’t Danika’s pack, as they wouldn’t have dared do this to their Alpha’s best friend. (And the person the Alpha’s second in command had been in love with for years.) Either way, this would not end well for Bryce if someone didn’t put a stop to it. She was high out of her mind and while normally she could have used the skills her step-father had taught her to get away, she wasn’t capable of that right now.

Declan appeared next to him, and Flynn raised his eyebrows. Silently asking whether his friend was ready.

The hacker scoffed.  _ Of course I’m ready _ . The Fae’s eyes conveyed.  _ It’s just a bunch of losers. _

_ Just asking _ , Flynn made his eyes convey back.

They both grinned and stepped towards the Vanir in front of them.

‘Excuse me?’ Declan began. ‘She’s off-limits.’

‘And who do you think you are, to decide that?’ One of the wolves asked.

‘Her cousin’s best friends.’ Flynn waited to see if they would recognize him. They didn’t. ‘That cousin, by the way, is Prince Ruhn Danaan.’

Flynn saw Bryce try to sneak away from the group while he was distracting them. It made it really clear how drunk and high she was, as she stumbled several times. 

The wolves now exchanged nervous glances. They now realized who they were standing in front of. Some of the AUX’ most important members. 

Declan grinned. 

‘Fine, you can have her.’ The group walked away, and Flynn offered Bryce his arm.

She refused at first, but then she nearly fell again, before she managed to grab him for balance. 

Declan shot off a text, probably to Ruhn, telling him what had happened. When he got a response, he looked at Flynn. ‘He’s home alone, I suggest we let her sleep it off there.’ 

Flynn thought for a second. On one hand, Bryce would hate it if she woke up there instead of in her own home. On the other, Bryce’s roommate probably was still off working, and he didn’t trust Bryce to stay home alone right now. He nodded. 

With some combined effort, as Bryce had realized they wouldn’t take her home and wasn’t all that cooperative, they managed to get her outside. They weren’t far enough from their home to warrant a taxi, so they walked. 

After Bryce had decided to just completely stop moving, Declan had sighed and had simply lifter her up and carry her. Flynn had to admire her core strength, as the Half-Fae, even high, still managed to keep her legs in the exact same cross-legged position as they had been on the ground.

‘Don’ take me to Ruhn.’ She slurred.

‘Why not?’ Dec asked, keeping his voice gentle. 

She didn’t answer. 

‘Why do you hate him?’ Flynn asked, unable to stop himself.

‘Don’ ‘ate ‘im. But don’ trust ‘im.’ She yawned.

Flynn felt a pang in his chest. It was so logical, for someone whose mother had been at the mercy of Fae for so long, specifically a Fae who was her connection to Ruhn, to find it very difficult to trust Fae men. He supposed that fight had just completely shattered her trust in him.

But maybe it could be the key to healing their relationship as well. If Ruhn managed to repair her trust in him. 

They walked on in silence, but the look in Declan’s face told his friend that the two of them had been having the same thought.

* * *

Ruhn trailed across the wooden floor in his house. Bryce was coming here. She’d nearly been assaulted by several wolves. If Flynn and Declan hadn’t been there…

He should have been there. He should have been able to protect his little sister.

The prophecy the Oracle had given him all those years ago (59 to be exact) still went around and around in his head.  _ The royal bloodline shall end with you, Prince _ . 

He couldn’t have his little sister be acknowledged as heir. That simply couldn’t happen. Not when it would put her in definite danger.

But it meant that he had to keep his distance. Act as if he was her far cousin. That nobody understood WHY the distance between them hurt so much. 

Which was why he’d stayed home alone. To not have to fake any emotions. And his sister had been in danger right at that moment.

Probably because she’d gone to drown her own emotions about their fight. From what Declan had sent him, she’d gone alone. If she’d gone clubbing for another reason, she’d have invited friends. But she hadn’t. So that meant the reason she’d endangered herself like that, was him. Because he pushed her. 

If Flynn and Declan hadn’t been there and something would have happened, that would have been on him. 

He’d already grabbed some blankets, and he’d made up the guest bedroom. He’d even grabbed a sweater large enough to function as a pajama for her in case she was coherent enough to not just fall asleep the second she entered the bedroom. 

But now there was little he could still do, so he was left pacing across the entire floor.

After a few minutes, the door opened, and first Flynn, and then Declan and Bryce (former still carrying latter) entered.

Ruhn’s eyebrows shot up at the position Bryce was in. She clearly wasn’t even noticing the physical effort she was exhuming by keeping her legs in that position. 

Declan, noticing Ruhn’s look, laughed. ‘She made it a hell of a lot easier for me to carry her even while intending the opposite.’

The prince smiled as he extended his arm towards his sister. ‘Let me carry her upstairs.’

At first, Bryce seemed annoyed at the prospect of nearing her brother, but apparently, she was high enough to forget her concerns and completely relax not three seconds later, once she was in her brother’s arms. Bryce wasn’t short, exactly, but he himself was tall enough to tower over her and carry her easily. 

He quickly climbed the stairs to the guest bedroom and set her down on the bed.

‘Bryce, are you coherent enough to understand me?’ 

She nodded.

‘I’m going to get some water for you to drink, can you get out of your dress and into that sweater in the meantime?’ 

Another nod. Ruhn was curious to see whether she would have even moved when he came back. 

Only the fact that he had to help his sister right now overshadowed the constant stream of thoughts in his head screaming how this was all his fault. 

When he walked downstairs to fill the glass, both Flynn and Declan were staring at him. The former spoke up first.

‘Is she alright?’ 

Ruhn nodded. ‘I think so.’

‘Are you?’ Dec inquired. 

The Prince closed his eyes for a second. ‘This is my fault.’

‘How is it your fault?’

‘You told me she went to the club alone. That meant she was just there to forget her problems. Guess who her problem was earlier today?’

‘That doesn’t make it your fault.’ Flynn reasoned. ‘The wolves were the ones misbehaving. They were the problem. Not you.’

Ruhn gave him a disbelieving look before sighing. ‘I should bring this glass up to her and see if she’s alright.’

He missed the worried look his friends exchanged before he added. ‘Oh, can one of you sent a message to Danika, telling her where Bryce is before she tears apart the entire city?’

‘I’ll do it.’ Declan declared. Not that that was a surprise to anyone. After all, he was the one that had the phone numbers of everyone in the city.

When a few seconds later, Ruhn arrived in Bryce’s room again, she had indeed managed to get out of the dress and into the sweater. She also had managed to dump her heels and open the window. 

She even was managing climbing out of it.

‘Bryce.’ He sighed. 

Her climbing speed increased when she saw him, but with the number of drugs in her system, he knew she was going to fall. He raced towards the window and grabbed her arm. 

He quickly pulled her upwards again, into the room.

‘Please don’t do that again.’ He softly begged. 

He lowered her in the bed again and locked the window with a key.

‘Please.’

He sat down next to her and saw the tears form in her eyes.

‘What’s wrong?’ He asked softly.

‘I can’t let you in, I can’t.’ Her breathing sped up.

‘Bryce, look at me. Breathe with me. Slowly.’ He said, clearly showing how slowly he was breathing, and he continued until she had calmed down as well.

‘Why can’t you let me in?’

‘I…’ Another tear rolled down her cheek.

He sighed softly. ‘Don’t feel forced to let me in, or to trust me fully, right now. Just let me take care of you for once. You’re my family, remember?’

She nodded, a shadow of a smile on her face before she fell asleep. He just sat there for a long time, watching his sister, making sure she wasn’t having any nightmares. At some point Flynn came in, pulling him along to his own bed. 

‘You need sleep as well, no matter how guilty you feel, that doesn’t mean you get to just neglect your own health.’ 

Ruhn rolled his eyes but went to sleep anyways. Wishing he and his sister would be closer, one day.

Although he knew that day wouldn’t be tomorrow when Bryce would wake up and would demand to know why she was here, he had faith it would happen one day.

He’d make sure of it. 

And some part of him suspected that even now, Bryce was hoping for the same thing. Even if she didn’t dare let herself admit it.


End file.
